Independent Police Review Authority Implements New Transparency Policy in City of Chicago

CHICAGO—(ENEWSP)—June 3, 2016. The Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) announced today that the agency is fully implementing the policy recommendation made by the Police Accountability Task Force which calls for the public release of recordings and reports related to certain types of police incidents.

The video release policy, which requires the City of Chicago to release specific audio and video recordings and police reports to the public no later than 60 days from the date of the incident, was formally adopted by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in February 2016. Since the formal adoption of the policy, IPRA has worked with several city agencies to develop a new online case portal to facilitate the release of the case materials. The new case portal can be found at: http://portal.iprachicago.org/.

Pursuant to the Task Force’s policy, the new case portal will feature case materials related to pending IPRA investigations that fall within the following categories:

Officer‐involved shootings

Officer‐involved taser use that results in death or great bodily harm

Incidents of death or great bodily harm (other than self‐inflicted harm) that occur in police custody.

“As an agency we’ve devoted significant time and effort into developing this case portal and we are hopeful that implementing this new policy will take the city a step closer to building a police accountability system that cultivates trust from the community,” said Chief Administrator Sharon Fairley. “Our desire is that the reforms we initiate under the IPRA banner will be carried into the future as the city transitions to a new accountability structure.”

As outlined in the policy, the evidentiary materials to be released on the new case portal by IPRA will include certain videos (dashboard cameras, POD videos, lockup footage, third‐party footage and body-cam video), audio (911 calls, OEMC dispatch recordings, CPD radio calls and third‐party audio) and police reports (arrest reports, original case incident reports, officer’s battery reports and tactical response reports). Due to the different nature of each police‐involved incident, the type of materials released will vary accordingly.

Evidence related to incidents involving juveniles will not be released on the case portal because Illinois State Law prohibits the release of law enforcement records that relate to a minor who has been investigated, arrested or taken into custody before his or her 18th birthday, without a court order.

The case portal currently houses approximately 100 cases that can be searched by date of incident, IPRA notification date, type of case, IPRA log number or by the name of the person that was the subject of the police conduct. More information about the new policy and process can be found at: http://www.iprachicago.org/ipra/homepage/frequently-asked-questions.html.

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